Rožaje

Rožaje is a small town in the North Montenegrin Mountains in northeastern Montenegro. It's mostly seen as a transfer city when coming and going from Kosovo, Serbia, and the rest of Montenegro. It's located high in the northern start of the Accursed Mountains range and is the last stop before entering Kosovo from Montenegro.

The population of 9,400 people (2011) is primarily Bosniaks, with a minority of Albanians, Serbs, and other ethnicities.

Get in
You can take a bus from anywhere in Kosovo, Novi Pazar in Serbia, or Podgorica to get to the city. The Podgorica International Airport is about 180 km away, and has regular flights to major European destinations throughout the year. The Lokve tunnel is considered to be the gateway of the municipality of Rožaje if you're arriving from Podgorica.

Get around
Because it is a small town, the majority of the things you'll need are usually at walking distance. Going by car can be difficult as traffic isn't managed properly there, as there are mostly roundabouts and three-way entry and exits. Locals often park on the road in the western part of the city away from the square in order to get groceries, so it's best to move away from the car if they aren't on but this is not highly recommended. There are taxi services in the city, however the best way to identify them is if they have a "TAXI" bumper at the top of their car.

See
It is an interesting little border city in a steep valley, and it's very scenic. The Ibar river that flows through Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo originates from the city. The municipality itself is a part of the geopolitical region of Serbia and Montenegro called Sandžak, and you'll be able to see several old mosques with a definite Islamic feel to the architecture, such as the Kučanska Džamija mosque, and the Sultan Murat II mosque, which the remains of the sultan are rumoured to be in a türbe within the mosque graveyard. Even if there is a majority of Muslims in the city, there is a Serbian Orthodox Church called Ružica. A replica of the Sebilj featured in Sarajevo was completed in the city center in 2018, so if you want to check that out you can go to the city square next to the Skala café.

Turjak is a popular skiing resort near the town, and not far from the city there is a restaurant up on the mountains called Dermando near Bandžov Brdo. It offers really good views of the Hajla mountain, as well as the hinterland towards the east. Not far from the city as well, there is the Štedim national park, which it's very close to the border of Kosovo. It offers some impressive scenery towards the east, south, and western parts of the country.

Do
The majority of the things that are dedicated to tourists are usually bunched between 2 long roads which are the 30. Septembar road that goes from the Elkos Center between the P8 road and E65 highway, to the Maršal Tito road that goes all the way to the start of the city, next to the Voli Supermarket. Aside from that, you're able to go skiing as well during the winter, whilst mountain climbing and hiking are also very common, considering the terrain of the land.

Buy and eat
There's a variety of smaller mini-markets, restaurants, cafés, and small clothing shops all within that narrow strip that meet at the city square which are separated by those two roads. On the E65 highway, you'll see a variety of restaurants and cafés, and a small bazaar near the bus station. There is also another bazaar in the city, however it's not a part of the city center.

Many of the food items are usually affordable, with small full-plate pizzas costing €3 - 4, and a whole platter of food costs €13-15. Turkish coffee, along with espressos are often served in cafés aside from light fizzy drinks and water. A popular restaurant in the municipality is the "Ognjište" restaurant on the P8 road, where there's a petting zoo and a walking trail, as well as some excellent cuisine.

Drink
Night life usually revolves around shisha bars, kafane (the equivalent to this is a small pub or bar in the US or the UK, which sometimes serve alcoholic beverages), restaurants, and open air cafés. It's usually considered a tradition to take a walk around the city square, this is mostly common during the summer.

Sleep
Cheap accommodation won't be very easy to find, but it is there. €10/person would be a good price. Try asking around at the restaurants on the main street, frequently they will have a room for rent above. Don't count on this though, get there early and arrange accommodation.

Connect
Due to the city being located in the former Yugoslavia, the normally common language being spoken in this city and the municipality is Serbo-Croatian.

The Albanian minority both speak Serbo-Croatian and Albanian, so it's best to know both standard variants of these languages.

Regardless of their ethnicity, the city's people also contains some diaspora communities that work abroad in Western Europe and North America, so you'll most likely come across mid-aged people who may have a working understanding of English, German, French, Dutch, Flemish, Danish and Swedish. If you already know one of these languages, then you should be fine, however they're most likely going to use Serbo-Croatian as it is commonly spoken there.

The older generation were mostly taught Russian as Yugoslavia used to be under a communist system while it existed, however they haven't used it in a while and have lost the language as a result. The younger generation are being taught English in Primary and Secondary schools, and their proficiency in English is either somewhat conversational to very fluent, as it usually depends on the person.

Go next
Your only three options are taking a bus or hitch-hiking to three other destinations; either Serbia, Kosovo, or the rest of Montenegro down south.

The only way to cross the border to Kosovo is by driving through the P8 road, which is very scenic. It passes by the Bandžovo Brdo district, and then there's two villages along this road called Dačici on the Montenegrin side. Around 5km, you'll be within the Kula border crossing of Montenegro. From there, the road leads to an unnamed village between the no-man's-land until you reach the other Kula border crossing point of Kosovo.

The E65 highway is also very scenic as it's built alongside the Ibar river, and it leads to the villages of Besnik, and Bač, which then leads to the Dračenovac border crossing in Montenegro, and then to the Špiljani border crossing, from where you can enter or exit Serbia.

However, if you are driving a rental car, it's important to know that the roads are poorly maintained and they're somewhat winding, so driving during the winter must be treated with extreme caution as avalanches are bound to happen during the winter.

After you cross the Kula border crossing from the Montenegrin side, the road becomes more winding and can be very risky for inexperienced drivers, especially during the winter when it gets slippery. Be extremely cautious when driving.